Posts Tagged ‘sun’

The above image shows, however, that even during off days the Sun's surface is a busy place.
Sunspot Loops in Ultraviolet
Credit: TRACE Project, NASA
Explanation: It was a quiet day on the Sun. The above image shows, however, that even during off days the Sun's surface is a busy place. Shown in ultraviolet light, the relatively cool dark regions have temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius. Large sunspot group AR 9169 from the last solar cycle is visible as
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Courtesy of EarthSky
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When 2011 began on January 1, our planet Earth was very close to its perihelion – its closest point to the sun for the year. That closest point will come tomorrow. In 2011, Earth will be closest to the sun on Monday, January 3 at 19 hours Universal Time (12 p.m. Mountain Time).
How do I translate Universal Time to my time?
Earth is closest to the sun every year in early January, when it is winter
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Courtesy of EarthSky
A Clear Voice for Science
Visit EarthSky at
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If you could see the stars during the daytime, you would see the sun shining in front of the constellation Ophiuchus today. At about this time each year, the sun passes out of Scorpius to enter Ophiuchus. Like Scorpius, Ophiuchus is a constellation of the Zodiac, and every year the sun passes in front of Ophiuchus from about November 30 until December 17.
The ecliptic – which translates on our
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Courtesy of EarthSky
A Clear Voice for Science
www.EarthSky.org
Because the planet Venus circles the sun inside of Earth’s orbit, Venus can never appear opposite the sun in Earth’s sky – like the moon does at full moon. In fact, Venus cannot even get as far as 90 degrees from the sun – as the moon does at its first and last quarter phases.
As seen from Earth, Venus stays closely tethered to the sun. These next few evenings, however, will find Venus at the end of its tether, at
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